New Weather, New Walls and a New Granddaughter!!

Whether you're a fan of Bob Seegers song (Turn! Turn! Turn! To Everything There is a Season) or prefer to get your profundities from the Book of Ecclesiastes, I think you'll agree that Fall is a season of great change. Of course that depends on where you live, but here in the often insipid Midwest, Fall has a way of shocking us into paying attention. 


The weather spoiled us up until three days ago with 70 plus degree days and balmy low 60's nights, but then cold, blowing rain started in. Todays high was just in the 50's and the low tonight will be only 34! Yikes. It has delayed our plans to butcher chickens this past weekend since we do all that loose feather stuff outside, but we did manage to get a few side panels up on the barn.


We're digging into the 3 foot by 10 foot panels from the recycled machine shed we had torn down, saving the new steel panels for the roof. Before we put each in place Keith uses a pipe and hammer to reshape. Some pieces are too bent up to use in their entirety, but will be cut as fill-in pieces later on.




Because the panels are narrow the wind does not catch them too badly when we raise them into place. While I hold one metal panel against the framing, Keith puts in the first couple screws. After that he works up high while I work down low (ALWAYS, he takes the high road). Using two drills, yes I have my own, it takes just a couple minutes to get the panel screwed in place. 

The panels do have holes in them from the nails used sixty years ago when they were first put up, so we'll need to caulk them eventually. And there is age related rust. The plan is to paint these old steel  panels with the same aluminum paint we used on the outside of our mudroom attached to the Looney Bin. All in good time my pretty. 

In the meantime, another Big Huge Wonderful Change! Our fifth grandchild, with the perfect Fall name of September, has arrived. She blew in a couple weeks early and so is on the dinky side at 5 pounds 9oz, but since her father, our oldest son, weighed in at over 10 pounds, (they used a fork lift to get him out) I'm sure her mother was happy her daughter did not follow in dad's footsteps.

September joins our other four grandkids Nicole 15, Allana 13, Wesley 10 and Easton 2. To add to all the fun, little Easton is expecting a brother any day now, which will bring our GK count to 6. Three girls, three boys. We are so blessed.